northern lights •

To find what makes the auroral breakup occur – a phenomenon in which the auroras fragment into separate glowing features that fill the entire sky – scientists used a computer model.

In a paper – published December 21 in the Journal of Geophysical Research – scientists wrote that the bright spectacle occurs due to an electrical interaction between Earth’s magnetic field and charged particles coming from the Sun.

According to Yusuke Ebihara of Kyoto University and author of the study, the auroral breakup is a fascinating and beautiful phenomenon.

Dr. Ebihara says that the aurora, also known as Northern or Southern Lights (depending on where it occurs), does not usually move. However that changes when the auroral breakup takes place. All of a sudden it starts to expend (could cover the whole sky) and becomes a lot brighter. It normally lasts from thirty minutes to an hour.

When plasma – which comes from the Sun and is also referred to as solar wind – reaches the Earth, it produces electrical currents. These then flow along our planet’s magnetic field, according to Dr. Ebihara.

The electrons follow the magnetosphere toward Earth’s two poles. They collide with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, and the energy from these collisions is released in the form of light. The light comes in various colours due to the different energy levels of the atoms.

Scientists teamed up and developed a computer model to help them determine exactly how auroral breakups occur. As the plasma reaches the Earth from the sun, it stretches much like an elastic band. When stretched too far it snaps, releasing the tension and hurtling toward Earth. Earth’s magnetic field forces it toward the poles, leading to a surge of energy that produces the auroral breakup.

Jeffrey Hughes, an astronomer at Boston University who was not involved in the study, said that the new research – although not revolutionary – is very reasonable as it confirms how the auroral breakups work with the help of a computer model.

According to Hughes, the question about auroral breakups has been bugging scientists for thirty to forty years. Although knowing the mechanisms behind it is not going to solve any important problems of mankind, it is still a good thing to understand how nature works, he added.

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NASA’s recent reports alerted that Earth’s magnetic field will face a double-blow from a pair of CMEs on Sept. 12th. Previously, the two storm clouds were propelled in our direction by explosions in the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR2158, which also fired off another intense solar flare on 9th and 10. These two flare outburst process was captured on camera by NASA. Huge geomagnetic tornados are expected on Sept. 12th and 13th as an outcome of the above repeated impacts.

Solar flares are exploding of high-energy radiation. Huge ones are frequently convoyed by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which send clouds of superheated solar plasma streaking through space at millions of miles per hour. These incoming two CMEs that will strike Earth can produce powerful geomagnetic storms, which can cause short-term interruption in radio communications, GPS navigation, and power grids.

The AR2158 burst of Sept 10th reasoned a radio blackout on Earth and it was also liable for a minor-intensity eruption. Strangely, it also caused an explosion of radio noise. Radio astronomers and hams in the Americas and across the Pacific Ocean listened heavy roaring from the amplifiers of their shortwave receivers. An astronomic scientist stated that “It was extremely horrified,” reports, who mailed this 3-minute evidence recording from his amateur radio observatory in country New Mexico.

Even Ar2158 not stricken straightly at Earth, but that predecessor would produce a partial clearing in the interplanetary medium that would permit two CMEs blasts to reach us on Sept. 12th that is why Sky watchers, even those at mid-latitudes, should be aware of these CMEs.

The intensive radio emissions from shock waves at the leading edge of the CME show that the cloud tore through the sun’s atmosphere at speeds as high as 3,750 km/s. By the time it’s gone from the sun’s atmosphere, though, the cloud had a record speed of 1,400 km/s, this higher speed creates it a quite typical CME instead of a “super CME”.

Even reduce in speed; this CME has the possibility to cause major geomagnetic movement when it will arrive at the Earth’s magnetic field during the mid-to-late hours of Sept. 12th. NASA analysts presumed that an approximately-80% possibility of geomagnetic tornados on Sept. 12-13.

Auroral Breakup Explained by Scientists

Solar Flare Geomagnetic Strength Increased by Twice: NASA

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